


Allura Struggles with Changes

by Imawriteritswhatido



Series: Shallura Family Digest [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/M, There's poop in here, be warned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-27
Updated: 2019-03-27
Packaged: 2019-12-25 12:37:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18261437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Imawriteritswhatido/pseuds/Imawriteritswhatido
Summary: Princesses sometimes need help with making changes in messy situations





	Allura Struggles with Changes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Braincoins](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Braincoins/gifts).



> Originally posted on my tumblr as a gift for Braincoins. Go check out her work. It's great.

It was horrible! The agony Allura of Altea felt in this moment dwarfed any difficult choice she had made as a queen, as a princess, as a paladin! The terror incalculable. And now, her whole family was at stake!

“Mommy! Alfie’s stinky!”

Allura’s daughter, Junera, pressed her nostrils closed with both her fingers, her eyes wide and buggy with overplayed annoyance. A quick glance in the rearview mirror revealed baby Alfor sniffling and Allura prayed that he wouldn’t start crying again.

“I know, Junnie,” Allura said, “and I’m–trying to fix it. Please be–”

Allura fought down a gag and rolled down the car window.

“Please be patient.”

Allura had never been good with children. She had dreaded motherhood almost her whole pregnancy. But then, when she held Junera in her arms for the first time, tears welling up in her eyes, the man she loved with her, the family she had found by her side, it was like a switch had been flipped. She wanted to protect this child, this thing she had created through love and genetics.

They gave her an Altean name, Junera, “Juniberry child”, for the flowers she loved so much, that each paladin grew in the gardens and pots in their home.

And Allura wanted to make sure she grew up as beautiful as the delicate sweet blooms she was named for.

She grilled Lance relentlessly for tips and baby books, made at least three lopsided one-armed sweaters under Hunk’s tutelage before giving into buying cute clothes that said things like “I’m the princess you better run” on them, and made sure Coran was never as far as a phone call away (the kids loved Coran to bits, a sentiment he returned).

And every time she looked at Junnie in her the five years of life, she saw new reasons to love her. Every time her daughter read a new sentence or learned a new word, visited Shiro’s family, when they told her a bedtime story about Voltron, Allura found her heart growing just a little bit more.

Those were Shiro’s eyes, eyes that lit up when she was so happy, that could hold so much feeling at one time, eyes she could stare into forever.

And that face, that was her nan-nan’s face. The face she remembered from her childhood.

But her daughter’s hair, so much like her own, but streaked with ashy grey and black, was a mixture unique to her and so very lovely, Allura always thought.

She was brave too. Never afraid to speak her mind, never shy around people, never afraid to try new things.

She was a princess of Altea, through and through.

Even when she was too stubborn for her own good or arguing, Allura loved her and cared for her more than she could put into words.

And then, Alfor came into the world. Named for her beloved father, Alfor saw the whole world as one big adventure, a play date full of new people to meet and new things to see. He was sunny and friendly and full of love.

So full of love, in fact, that even Junnie was taken with him after a week or two of jealous pouting was under her belt.

He was a little prince. Her little prince.

But boy, could he make a big stink.

It had started easy enough. Her workload had been light today, the weather fair, so working at home with the kids seemed like a splendid idea. It had been a peaceful morning, with a peaceful lunch. Alfor and Junera had eaten agreeably and promised to stay in the nursury until she was finished. If they needed anything ,she had the baby monitor on and, Yes Junnie, you’re a big girl, I know, but if you need help, I’m in the next room over. She’d finished the first set of forms when she’d first scented it. A wet, hot smell that burned her nostrils and tickled her gag reflex. Then she’d heard the crying over the baby monitor.

Allura had dashed out of her office into the nursury where Junera was standing in front of Alfor’s crib, where the crying was coming from.

“Mama,” Junera said, turning to look at her, “Alfie’s stinky.”

Shiro and Coran were normally the ones to handle changing diapers. Allura had so far been lucky, always away on diplomatic matters or when Shiro had been in the other room when diaper changing had been needed.

But now, Shiro was on a mission with the other paladins, providing relief to a system stifled with drought and famine. And Coran was in Washington DC, helping to diffuse a rather sticky situation involving a migrant couple and an Altean baby. Which left just her. She and Shiro had not bothered with nannies or servants. They didn’t need them when they had at least five other people over at their house every other week (Keith still slept on their couch more than once). But now she was regretting it.

The concept was simple enough. Getting the baby’s diaper off and putting on a fresh one. But then she’d went to the bathroom cupboard and found no diapers, just an empty plastic bag labeled “Pampers”.

She couldn’t damage this diaper, then. Not until she could find more.

She’d cycled through every person she knew. No-one but Keith was planet side and he’d made it firmly known that he did not know how to change a diaper. So that was out.

And if she called the guards, they would undoubtedly turn a routine trip to the supermarket into an international spectacle of security (protection was fine, but stifling thy name was guard).

So, with much grumbling, crying, consoling, and carefully scooping disgusting bits of…red out of Alfor’s diaper with an ice cream scoop, Allura loaded her family into the car and set out on what could be her most important mission to date.

If Alfor was going to get changed, Allura thought as her daughter made an exaggerated gagging noise, then she’d have to do it herself.

Allura pulled into a familiar driveway.

But she couldn’t do it alone.

***

“You want me to change your child’s diaper?”

Allura nodded. She sat in an armchair in the Holt family home, across from Doctor Samuel Holt, while Alfor sat in a play pen on the other side of the room with his sister.

“Yes, Doctor Holt.”

Sam sighed and sat down the datapad he had been using.

“Your majesty…”

“Allura, please. We’ve known each other long enough.”

Sam nodded.

“Allura then. I don’t really know how to help you in this regard.”

Allura’s face fell.

“But you’re a doctor. For Aliens!”

Sam shook his head.

“I’m a xenobiologist not a–well, I am a doctor, but I think you’re looking for a babysitter.”

“Please just teach me how to change a diaper! I can’t reach anyone else! I took out the worst of it, but he still needs to be cleaned. You don’t have to do anything!”

Sam looked like a deer that had just been introduced to a gas tanker.

“I don’t know how to change a diaper!”

A sharp shot of anxiety went through Allura’s chest like an icicle.

“What!?”

“That was always my wife’s department.”

Suddenly, Alfor began screaming again.

“Mama!” Junera’s trilled, “Alfie’s stinky!”

Allura took a deep calming breath. Considering the smell that pervaded the room and made the man across from her make a face like a goldfish out of water, it was quite a feat. She would not scream. Queens do not scream. Princesses, maybe, Queens never.

“Could you maybe…call her?”

Holding his nose, Sam shook his head.

“She’s on Atlas duty with the Katie and Matt.”

“Quiznak.”

***

“Goggles?”

“Check.”

“Gloves.”

“Check.”

“Alright then,” Allura said, straitening her oven mitts, “let’s change Alfie.”

Alfor gurgled beneath them on the changing table. Slowly, Allura reached down to the safety pin that held Alfor’s diaper in place. It took her two tries before she finally removed her gloves and undid the pin. Slowly, she pulled back the flaps. The scent that hit her was nothing short of a chemical weapon.

“Excuse me!”

Allura made a beeline straight for the little Alteans’ room.

It was about two hours before baby Alfor was changed, cleaned and returned home.

***

“Allura, I’m home.”

Shiro walked through his front door to find the house unusually quiet. Odd. Usually someone was there to meet him. His daughter, his wife, his son. Had they gone out to eat.

“Allura?” called out again.

Junera ran into the living room up to him. She put her fingers to her lips.

“Shhhhh,” she said, “mama’s sleeping.”

“Oh.”

Shiro knelt in front of his daughter.

“Did mama finish all her work?”

Junera nodded.

“Yes.”

“Was it hard work?”

“Mama changed Alfie’s diaper.”

“Really?”

Junera nodded.

“She’s sleeping now.” said Junera.

“Then why are you still up?” Shiro stage whispered, leaning in.

“I’m not tired,” Junera said.

Shiro smiled and faked a wide yawn. Junera yawned back. He smiled and scooped his daughter up into his arms. How is it you could fall in love with a family all over again after only a day away from them?

“Come on,” he said, kissing his daughter on the cheek, “let’s go see how mommy and Alfie are doing.”

***

It turns out, Alteans are unable to digest peaches, even the ones processed for babies. Now, Allura’s children aren’t allowed to eat peaches in any regard and all five paladins of Voltron know the ten most popular videos about how to change a diaper on YouTube.

**Author's Note:**

> Remember, comments give me life!


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